In Those 19 Years
by TheRealRoseWealsey
Summary: This is my story of what happened in those 19 years between the battle and platform 9 and 3/4 it sticks to the books as much as possible. Enjoy!


Disclaimer : Surprising as this may sound, I am not JK Rowling and therefore do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

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><p>Harry was woken suddenly by Ginny who was shaking his shoulders forcefully. "What... Ginny? What is it?" The room was almost pitch black, it was the middle of the night. "Ginny what's going on?" He asked again as he fumbled for his glasses. Ginny had moved away from his bed and now seemed to be trying to wake Ron. "It's Hermione, I can't calm her down." she said, switching on the light, forcing Harry cover his eyes with his hands.<p>

After a moment Harry stretched out his arm and fumbled around for his glasses. He shoved them on and scrambled out of bed as Ginny dragged Ron from his covers.

"Hurry up." called Ginny as she left the room. The two boys clambered after her, exchanging worried glances. They ran down the stairs as quietly as possible, though they weren't very successful, and into Ginny's room. Hermione was sitting bolt upright in her bed, her back against the corner of the wall behind her.

"Hermione, whats wrong? What happened?" Ron asked, walking over to her quickly and crouching down in front of her, trying to get her to look at him.

"I told her," said Hermione, "I told her we didn't steal it but she doesn't believe me."

"Who doesn't believe you?" asked Ginny kneeling down beside Ron.

"What happened this time?" Harry asked Ginny as he crossed the room towards Hermione."I don't know." said Ginny in a panicked voice, "I think she was having another nightmare when I woke up, she was yelling about how she didn't take something? I'm not sure."

"Hermione don't worry. There's no one here to hurt you." said Ginny. Hermione suddenly grabbed her left forearm and screamed. Harry had heard that scream before. That was the scream he had heard from the Malfoy's basement. A desperate, tortured scream. Ron recognise it to, he prised Hermione's hand off her arm took both of her hands firmly in his own. "It's ok Hermione. You're safe. She's gone now." Ron soothed. Hermione closed her eyes and was silent for a moment whilst the others exchanged terrified glances. "Safe?" she whispered.

"Safe." Ron repeated, sitting next to her on her bed and wrapping his arms around her.

Harry turned round and saw Mr and Mrs Weasley and George at the door looking worried. He shook his head at them slightly then turned back round to face Hermione who had started to cry.

"What's wrong Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"I just want to go home." and the tears engulfed her.

"It's getting much worse, we need to take her to see a healer. That's the third time this week. I don't suppose Kingsley has been in touch recently?" Asked Mrs Weasley. She, Harry, Ginny, George and Mr Weasley were sitting round the kitchen table clutching mugs of tea or coffee. "Last I heard he had aurors somewhere near Sydney, he though they might be close to finding them." Said Harry taking a gulp of his tea.

"What do you think's wrong with her?" Ginny asked

"I'm not sure. After the last war, several people who had been on the front line in the fight against Voldemort were diagnosed with something called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD for short. It could be that."

"But why Hermione? She was always the one that kept it together." said Harry

"I suppose it could have been triggered by something," said Mr Weasley, "A specific moment or memory. Something to do with that scar on her arm perhaps?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and exchanged a dark glance. Mr Weasley had never seen the scar, Hermione kept it well hidden. But he and Mrs Weasley both knew that something had happened to her before they arrived at Shell Cottage all those months ago. It made sense, Hermione had been tortured after all, neither of them had.

"Well I'll get her an appointment with a healer tomorrow, we can't send her back of to Hogwarts in this state. Honestly I don't see why McGonagall didn't send her back here, she shouldn't be in school." Said Mrs Weasley

"They tried." Replied Ginny, "She refused, said she had all ready missed a year of school and wasn't going to miss any more."

"Well you better go back to bed, we'll put up the christmas decorations tomorrow, maybe that will help." Mrs Weasley ended the conversation and watched them retreat back up the stairs.

Harry and Ginny paused outside her room, they could hear Ron talking quietly to Hermione. "Can I come up to your room? I don't think I should go back in yet." asked Ginny. "Sure, I wouldn't have ben able to get back to sleep anyway." They climbed the stairs silently and sat down on Harry's camp bed.

"Do you think Dad's right about Hermione?" Ginny asked after a minute or two, braking the silence.

"Maybe."

"I can't believe Mum thinks Christmas decorations will help. We all know this is going to be a terrible Christmas." Ginny gazed out the window, in the direction of the paddock where a white marble headstone could just be seen.

"I'm sorry." Harry said quietly.

Ginny shook her self and wiped her cheek with her fist quickly. "Not your fault."

"Percy and Audrey arrive tomorrow, it's so weird to think Percy got married."

"Yeah."

The conversation died out and they sat in silence. After a while Ginny stood up and clambered into Ron's bed. "We might as well pretend to sleep, incase Mum comes to check on us." she said through the yawn and Harry nodded. He removed his glasses and lay staring at the ceiling doing his best to resist sleep as it tried to pull him under. But as the sound of Ginny's deep breathing filled the room, he felt his eye lids begin to close, betraying him and returning him to his nightmares.

The next morning Harry and Ginny arrived in the kitchen to find Ron at the table. George, as usual, was absent.

"Hermione's asleep." he said, piling bacon onto his plate. Harry nodded and sat down, filling his bowl with porridge. They chatted as they ate, about nothing in particular; How Ginny was finding school, how Hogwarts had changed, about the boys Auror training programme. Anything to fill the dead silence of the house.

"Angelina will be round soon, to attempt to get George out of bed again." said Ron. The other two just nodded, they had reached an unwanted topic.

"We need to go to Diagon Alley today, there's a list of jobs for us to do from Mum." Ron tried again. Good, Diagon Alley, a safe topic.

As they finished eating, Mrs Weasley entered from the living room. "Right, Hermione has an appointment at 1 o'clock, you could all take her then Ron can bring her back here afterwards and you two can go to Diagon Alley for me. Oh this would be so much easier if they could only find her parents, poor girl." Said Mrs Weasley briskly and they all nodded at her orders. "Arthur said he would try and get hold of Kingsley at work today. He better be back at a reasonable time, I know there was a war, but it is Christmas Eve." They all watched Mrs Weasley fussing round the kitchen, keeping her self busy, before getting to their feet. "Once your dressed, I need all of your help to get the hose ready, everyone will be arriving today."

Mrs Weasley set them all to work doing jobs. She was always keeping them busy. Harry suspected it was to try and keep their mind off 'other things'. That was Mrs Weasley's way of coping. But it worked for her and she hardly cried anymore. At any rate it got them all outside an out of the gloomy house that was always so deadly silent.

As Harry finished cleaning out the chicken coup at eleven, he saw Angelina walking down the track towards the house. She had visited the house at the same time every day to see George and try and get him to return to the land of the living. She even managed to get him to join them all for lunch a week ago.

"Hi Harry." she said briskly as she approached him. She had an extremely determined expression. "Hi Angelina, are you coming round for Christmas tomorrow?"

"Mum's making me stay until Christmas dinner, but I'll be round in the evening and I expect to see George downstairs wearing a christmas hat."

"That sound a bit optimistic." Angelina laughed and waved goodbye to Harry as she continued to walk towards the house.

After cleaning out the coup, Harry made up all the beds with Ron for everyone arriving at the Burrow that night, he peeled potatoes for tea and degnomed the garden with the other two. As the last gnome was flung over the hedge, Harry bent over clasping a stitch in his side and gasping for breath. They were all covered in sweat, the freezing weather doing nothing to cool them down.

"We better stop now if we want to get to St Mungo's in time." Said Ginny

"I call first shower." Shouted Ron, and before the other two had the chance to stop him, he sped back into the house.

At half past twelve, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny gathered round the fire place now all showered and changed into clean clothing. They took a handful of floo powder each from the pot on the mantle piece before dropping it into the grate in turn and shouting "St Mungo's" as the disappeared into the green flames. The waiting room was just as it had been when they visited Mr Weasley in their Christmas Holidays; thoroughly overcrowded and poorly decorated. Harry pushed his way towards the queue at the front desk, doing his best to keep his face hidden. He stood for what felt like hours when he finally reached the front of the line. "Oh My God! It's 'Arry Potter!" screeched the young woman in an extremely prominent south london accent from behind the desk and Harry was thankful for all the noise in the waiting room because no one looked round. "Yeah, there's an appointment for Hermione Granger at one." he said quickly. "Right, well thats on the fourth floor, spell damage, Healer Shearer." Harry nodded and returned to the group, "You'r appointment is on floor four with Healer Shearer. Do you wan't us all to come?" Harry asked, Hermione looked very pale and she shook her head. "No, just Ginny."

"Ok we'll wait here for you." Ginny linked arms with her and Harry and Ron sat down as the girls disappeared into the crowd.

"Why did she want Ginny to go with her and not me?" Ron asked looking slightly peeved.

"I don't know, they're really close I mean they've always shared a room at the burrow and I guess they spend a lot more time together at school now it's just them? They're both girls?" Suggested Harry.

"Yeah I guess, but.."

"What? Are you guys together now?"

"Well not exactly, I mean I thought we were at the end of the battle," began Ron and Harry nodded, remembering their public displays of affection in the room of requirement. "But since then, I don't think she's even let me hold her hand."

"Sounds like she's gone of you mate."

"It's not funny Harry."

"No, I know, sorry. I'm sure she still likes you, I guess we'll just have to wait and find out what's going on."

"Yeah, I guess. What's going on between you and Ginny. Nothing better have happened in my room last night."

"Absolutely nothing." said Harry "I though we were going to get back together after I told her everything that happened last year at the end of the summer but she said she didn't want to just before she went back to school and she needed time to think." Harry sighed

"Why is everything so complicated?"

"I have no idea."

Harry watched as a steady stream of people arrived through the glass. A young man arrived bent double in stitches of laughter as a woman, Harry assumed was the man's girlfriend, pushed him through the crowd, a gigantic elephant trunk sprouting from her face. She was bright red and seemed to be yelling abuse at her significant other. A man who was emitting an extremely high pitched siren noise whenever he opened his mouth was trying to push to the front or the queue at the desk. There was a young girl in a christmas cracker hat who seemed to be covered in dragon pox scars, playing with her siblings. In the chair opposite Harry, an elderly man had dozed off and seemed to be making noises like a sheep as he snored and the woman next to him looked like a cross between a human and an extravagantly decorated christmas tree.

After about an hour Ginny and Hermione made their way back to the boys who stretched and yawned as they got to their feet.

"Can we go back to the Burrow now? I don't want to talk about it." asked Hermione before Ron had the chance to say anything. "Uh, sure. We'll see you two later." He said to Harry and Ginny as he walked away with Hermione.

"How was it?" Harry asked when the other two were out of sight.

"I'll let her tell you, she didn't want me to say." Said Ginny and Harry nodded.

"Well we better get to Diagon Alley, you mum left us a long list."

When they reached to door of the Leakey Cauldron, Harry stopped. "Do you think we should put the cloak on? It'll be packed in there." Ginny smiled at him, "Harry it'll make shopping quite hard if we're invisible, you made it through St Mungo's, we don't have to stop and chat to anyone. Come on." She opened the door and they stepped in. They had made it halfway through the pub when they heard someone call "Harry Potter?!" They froze for a moment as the name travelled throughout the room. Ginny was about to turn around as a cloak was flung over her head, "Walk, quickly, come on." whispered Harry. They continued walking in between the tables as people continued to look around muttering Harry's name.

"Sorry, I guess you were right." sighed Ginny as she shrugged the cloak of in the backyard in front of the brick wall. "At least we made it through alive." Replied Harry before taking out his wand and tapping a brick, revealing the hidden street to them.

Harry's eyes travelled up and down the street that had been his first real taste of the magical world as they stood frozen. at the entrance "Wow." said Ginny quietly, Harry nodded slowly and stepped forwards. Without the fairy lights and the bunting and large white platform that had been set up for the awards presentation in the summer the last time they had been there, Diagon Alley looked very different. Although it was a sunny day, the street seemed dull and grey, and Harry stepped forwards. Sugarplums Sweetshop was deserted and the windows of Gambol and Japes joke shop were boarded over, there were wizards working on the roof of Potage's cauldron shop and the second hand bookshop was having its windows replaced. As they walked further down the almost deserted street, Madam Malkin was opening her shop and as Harry looked opposite, a very tired, starved looking man was attempting to brighten up his shop, "Florean Fortescue?" Ginny breathed quietly Harry stopped and looked closely at the man. "Florean Fortescue is dead Gin." he swallowed, "I think thats his son." Ginny nodded, "Blimey, he looks rough." The continued on down the street. Eyelop's Owl Emporium was open, but Harry didn't think he had ever seen it with less owls. Quality Quidditch Supplies was restocking and Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment was empty, the door hanging pathetically from a single hinge. To Harry amazement, a group of builders stood outside Ollivanders, clearing rubble and replacing broken glass, Ollivander himself was stacking the empty shelves with newly made wands, his eyes still sunken but healthier than he had looked last time they had met. Harry looked past the Apothecary, Flourish and Blotts, Slug and Jigger's and the Magical Menagerie, they walked quickly past Weasleys Wizard Wheezes not daring to stop and take in the smashed windows, up to Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

Harry grimaced at the sight of the smashed glass dome but was relieved to see the wizards that stood with their probity probes had vacated the entrance to the bank. Harry an Ginny walked up the front steps and under the arch bearing the warning Harry, Ron and Hermione had all ignored mere months ago;

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn,_

_So if you seek beneath our floor_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more then treasure there._

As they walked up to the front desk, the goblins on either side glared at them making them cringe stepped up to the goblin behind the counter and coughed quietly,

"We came to withdraw money from both the Weasley and Potter vaults." The goblin looked up at the latter name and his eyes fell on Harry's scar.

"And do you have Mr Potters key?" asked the goblin, Harry look startled,

"I was under the impression I had been moved to the family vault." he said and the Goblin looked angry at being corrected,

"Very well," he said grudgingly, "follow me."

They all followed the goblin to a cart with a second goblin standing by it, "Potter and Weasley vaults." he grunted towards the goblin before turning his back to return to his desk. The younger goblin nodded and motioned for them to climb into the cart. They took their seats and began the breakneck journey to the Weasleys Vault. Harry was expecting to feel a twinge of guilt when the goblin opened the door to an empty vault. However, there was a sizable mound of gold galleons piled before him, still a pitiful amount for such a big family, but far more than Harry had ever seen there. He supposed Mr Weasley had been earning more in his new position at the Ministry of Magic and they had two less mouths to feed and bodies to clothe when Fred and George had moved into their flat. Ginny gathered a few handfuls of gold into a pouch before they all piled back into the carts and headed down towards Harry vault. Harry was also stunned and a little embarrassed when they opened the magical door to his new vault to find that the contents had been at least doubled since his last visit.

"Where'd all this come from?" he asked Ginny quietly,

"Harry, you inherited the Black's family fortune from Sirius remember?" she said squeezing his arm. Harry didn't feel like he deserved any of it and tried to block it from the view but Ginny ignored him and helped him fill his money bag before returning, once again to the cart.

"I still need to get Hermione's present, so lets head to Flourish and Blotts." said Ginny and Harry followed her to the shop. They wandered down the rows of books, not really sure what they were looking for, when they reached the transfiguration section a book caught Harry's eye. He lifted it down from the shelf and flipped it over to read the back.

"Are you really thinking of doing it? Becoming an Animagus?" Ginny asked looking at the book in Harry's hand.

"Yes." said Harry firmly "But I think I'll do it legally."

Ginny nodded, "I expect Ron would do it with you if you asked."

"I all ready have."

"Oh." Ginny was a little put out that Harry didn't ask her but she pushed past the rest of the transfiguration books and stopped in front of a shelf full of colourfully bound novels.

"Maybe I shouldn't get her a book, she's probably read them all."

"Probably." Harry laughed. "Lets just have a look around and get all of your Mum's stuff."

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><p>Author's Notes: What did you think? I'm not sure about this story so please review and let me know if you think I should keep going?!<p> 


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